nasdaq up 2% right now. it's been strong all day. now at 3,020. and the s&p up 1.5%. >> look at those stocks go. president obama saying a fiscal cliff agreement is quote, in sight. mitch mcconnell moments ago saying quote, we are very, very close. >> to d.c. and john harwood. he and eamon have been monitoring all day. why are we close but not there yet? what's left, john? >> what's left is the agreement between the two parties on delaying those automatic across the board defense and domestic budget cuts which nobody wants. they deliberately set up so they wouldn't take place. democrats want to defer those for a year. republicans say we're only going to put them off to the extent you can find budget cuts that match the amount that the sequester would have been. now, the republicans are offering two or three months, 60 or 90 days and suggesting cuts. but democrats have not agreed to that. which is why the deal has been held up. even though the main portions of the tax element have fallen into place. and i'll recap what those are. a higher clinton er